Seal of Alexander de Yle, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross 1440

Seal of Alexander de Yle, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross 1440

ID: QZP40_02 DESCRIPTION: Although his mother was Norse, Somerled turned against the Norse rulers of the Western Isles of Scotland and was successful in expelling them. He became the first Lord of the Isles from whom all successive Lords were descended. In the mid-12th century the Clan Donald held the title of Lords of the Isles. They were named after Somerled's grandson Donald and their power and influence continued to grow. The Lords of the Isles became so powerful that they were able to challenge the Scottish Crown at the battles of Harlaw and Inverlochy. The Lordship ended in 1493 after John MacDonald had entered into a treaty with Edward IV of England to partition Scotland. The Scottish Crown eventually forced him to forfeit his lands. Alexander, whose seal is seen here, was the father of John MacDonald. Alexander became Lord of the Isles on the death of his father and was granted the title of the Earl of Ross in 1424. Alexander was considered too powerful and a danger to Scotland so James I had him arrested and jailed in 1426. In retaliation for his imprisonment, Alexander burned the town of Inverness upon his release from prison. He regained most of his power and lands before he died in May 1448. This illustration of Alexander, Lord of the Isles' seal was taken from 'The Earldom of Ross' by D Murray Rose (1900) PLACENAME: N/A CREATOR (AV): unknown DATE OF IMAGE: 1900 PERIOD: 1440s SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Fraser Mackintosh Collection (illustrations) Asset ID: 30732 KEYWORDS: